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Agreement on Holding the Family Reunions on the Occasion of the Lunar New Year

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최지선

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2014-02-05

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2823

Press Release

Agreement on Holding the Family Reunions

on the Occasion of the Lunar New Year

February 5, 2014

□ South and North Korea held working-level Red Cross meeting at the North side of Panmujeom, Tongilgak today. There were a total of two general meetings and three meetings by the chief delegates of the two sides.

□ We expressed regrets over North Korea’s breach of last year’s agreement on holding family reunions.

□ At the meeting, both sides discussed practical issues regarding the family reunions and reached the following agreement:

o The South and the North agreed to hold family reunions on the occasion of the Lunar New Year from February 20th to 25th, 2014 at Mount Geumgang.

-The family reunions will be held for 100 families from each side, respectively, and the candidates will be the same as those who were on the list, which was exchanged last September. Guardians will be allowed to accompany the candidates if necessary.

-Group reunions will proceed at the Reunion Center for the Separated Families and the Kumgangsan Hotel. The families from the South will stay at Kumgansan and Oekumgang Hotels.

-An advance group will be sent to the site five days before the start of the family reunions and a facility inspection team will be dispatched from February 7th for on-site inspections. The North guaranteed the provision of convenience for these personnel.

□ We made it clear that failure to fulfill agreements as was the case last year should not recur and the North concurred with our stance.

□ At the meeting, we emphasized the need for fundamental solutions for the separated families and raised issue with the whereabouts of the South Korean abductees in the North.

o The South and the North agreed to continue discussions to solve such humanitarian issues by holding working-level Red Cross meetings following the upcoming family reunions.

□ The Korean government has striven to ensure substantial progress in solving the separated families issue with consistency.

o We expect the reached agreement to proceed as scheduled and hope that it will serve as an opportunity to heal the pain and agony of the separated families.

o The Korean government will continue to discuss humanitarian issues such as the South Korean abductees in the North through working-level Red Cross meetings.